Philippines Evacuates Areas Due to Mayon Volcano Eruption

Philippines, Legazpi, Mayon, volcano

More than 12,000 residents have already fled to evacuation centers after the 2,462-metre (8,077-foot) Mayon volcano, in central Albay province, began spewing ash on Saturday and unleashed burning mud and rocks on Sunday.

“There is an ongoing forced evacuation from the municipalities of Daraga and Legazpi because of the lava flow,” Romina Marasigan, spokeswoman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, told reporters.

“The lava flow has reached some areas around three kilometers away from the volcano.”

Mayon (Bicol Province) is a tourist attraction because of its near-perfect cone shape, showed a bright crater glow on Sunday, signifying lava had started to flow from the crater.

Manila’s airport authorities said Cebu Pacific had canceled flights to nearby Legazpi City for a second day on Monday, citing bad weather.

Philippine Airlines said it had not canceled any flights to and from Legazpi, but there were some delays.

Mayon’s most destructive eruption was in February 1814, when lava buried a town and killed 1,200 people. It last erupted in 2014, spewing lava and forcing thousands of people to evacuate.

The Philippines raised the volcano alert to level 3, which indicates increased volcanic activity toward a hazardous eruption, late on Sunday. Level 5 indicates an eruption is in progress.

People have been advised to stay away from a 6-km (4-mile) radius Permanent Danger Zone and a 7-km Expanded Danger Zone on the volcano’s southern flank. On Tuesday, the Philippines’ most active volcano spewed lava that cascaded downslope and emitted ash that fell on nearby towns, state volcanologists said, prompting the provincial government to shut more schools.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded nine episodes of tremor, four of which accompanied lava fountains, and 75 lava collapse events as pressure builds up leading to lava flows and ash plumes, reiterating its warning that a hazardous eruption could happen any time.